


Monsters

by Anonymous6285



Series: Beatles Family AU [1]
Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: Car Accidents, Childhood, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Nightmares, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29184741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymous6285/pseuds/Anonymous6285
Summary: Paul has nightmares about monsters, and he's convinced that they're real.ORRingo needs sleep but he can't leave his son to deal with the monsters all by himself.
Relationships: George Harrison/Ringo Starr
Series: Beatles Family AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923505
Kudos: 7





	Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> I got lazy and downloaded this app that scans paper so I didn't have to transcribe all the fanfic I wrote by hand.
> 
> If there's any weird spacing, that's why lol

The first time it happened, George had been the first one awake. Of course, how could you not wake up to your own child's screams? It was horrifying and scary, and immediately, he felt his throat closing up and his palms getting sweaty.

"Richie, " he whispered, not loud enough to even get close to waking his husband. But his thoughts were scaring him, and he was way too anxious to think about getting up out of bed to make sure Paul was okay. "Rich!" he tried again, and to his luck, the slightly older man groaned sleepily.

"What do you want? M'tryin' to sleep here." It only took a second for him to hear the screams, though, and he jumped out of the bed before George could even say anything. "Paul!" he shouted, running out of the bedroom.

George muttered a few more things and then got out of the bed, too. "Richard, is he alright?!" His hobbled run down the hallway wasn't quite as fast, but he got there just in time to see Ringo walking over towards the bed, glad to see their son still safely asleep in bed.

"It must be a nightmare," Ringo said sadly, starting to shake his shoulders gently to get him to wake up. "Paulie?" His voice had gotten soft. "Wake up, love."

George assessed the situation, seeing that his rapid breathing and terrified eyes would probably only make the boy feel worse. "I'm gonna go," he mumbled, and Ringo glanced up at him, confused. "I just don't want to worry him, y'know. "

"Alright. I'll see if I can get him back to sleep more peacefully this time." He smiled, but Paul started to cry even louder, and George nearly jumped out of his skin. He left the room, and Ringo turned to the boy, who was now starting to wake up a bit. But his fear had done anything but subside.

"Papa?" he whispered. "Papa, watch out!” Ringo would be lying if he said that didn't scare him just a little. "They're going to get you! Watch out! "

"Who's going to get me, love?"

"The monsters, Papa ! They’re hiding in the closet, and they're not very happy with me." The fear in his eyes was so evident that Ringo had to resist the urge to pull him into a hug long enough to hear what he was going on about.

"It's okay, love. But what do you mean the monsters? Did you have a bad dream?" He shook his head at that, and Ringo didn't want to argue with him when he was so upset, so he decided to play along. "What happened, then?"

"They're in the closet, and I told them to leave, so now they're mad at me. "

"Oh, I see." He walked over to the closet and peeked inside. "Hey!" he shouted. "Are you messing with my good friend, Paul?" He waited a few seconds to make it seem like they were answering him. "Well, that's not very nice of you. He hasn't done anything wrong, has he?"

"Papa, what are you doing? Now, they're gonna try to get you, too." His hands started to shake, tremble, and Ringo turned back around.

"Paul, they promised to leave you alone," Ringo said, the dark bags under his eyes begging him to get back to sleep.

"What did you say to them?"

"Nothing, love. They just agreed that you hadn't done anything wrong, and they didn't need to hurt you." Paul stared at him for a few seconds, a confused look on his face. "Why don't you get back to sleep, sweetheart?"

"What if they come back?"

"If they come back, you can come sleep in our bed, alright?" His son nodded his understanding, and Ringo seemed happy with that as an answer.

"I'm going to go back to my room now, okay? You’ll be alright?"

"Are you sure the monsters don't want to hurt me?"

"Would I ever leave you in here alone if I wasn't sure?" A shrug. "Well, I wouldn't. Goodnight, Paul." Paul crawled back underneath his blanket. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Papa."

Ringo then left the room, nearly running into George, standing anxiously right outside the door. "God, Geo. What're you doing?"

"Is he okay?" he asked, worriedly. "Sorry I left ... "

"He's okay. Think he just had a nightmare. Thought there were monsters in his closet." When George reached down to caress his fingers, he sighed.

"Told him they promised to leave him alone. I feel bad for lying."

"At least you could go in there with him without freaking him out even more."

"You didn't do anything wrong, and you know it. Don't blame yourself for stuff like that." George smiled, but Ringo knew all too well how fake it was. "Seriously. You don’t actually want to have panic attacks, do you?"

"What?? Of course not!"

"Then don't blame yourself for them. Paul was scared, too. You weren't the only one. "

"He was the one that had a nightmare, Rich! Not me!"

"Is that the only thing that's allowed to make you scared, then?"

George glared at him. "He said he's going to try to get back to sleep, okay? I told him if he has another nightmare, he can come back to our bed and sleep with us."

"Okay." They both started to make their way back to the room.

-

The next time it happened, Ringo was the first one awake. He knew if he didn't wake up George, and the man woke up while he was gone, he was sure to freak out. So he gently shook him up.

"George, I'm gonna go check on Paul, okay? I'll be right back." He didn't get an answer, but Paul continued to scream, and he was getting worried. Hurrying down the dark hallway for the second time that night, he checked the time on the wall clock: nearly five o'clock. If only he could've just gone until the morning ....

"Papa!" he cried, and Ringo went even faster.

"I'm here, Paul. I'm here. Are you okay? Have another nightmare?" Paul shook his head, but it was more than obvious. "How about we get you Dad and Papa's room, yeah?"

"No! It wasn't a nightmare. I swear! It was real, they were back, they said they promised you they wouldn't hurt me."

Ringo smiled, hoping this meant he'd get back to sleep again. "That's great, love! So now they won't hurt you? You're safe?" Paul nodded, a second later jumping up into his Papa's lap and starting to cry. "Paul?"

"Why’d you do it, Papa?" he sobbed. "I could have just dealt with them myself!"

"What do you mean?" Did Paul not want him to come wake him up? Surely, he was better off this way than staying in that awful dream ...

"Now they're going to come after you!"

"Sweetheart, I really don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't have to hide it from me, y'know. They already told me you sold your soul to them to save me. You're going to die, and it's all my fault ... "

"What? No, of course not!" He took a deep breath. "I really think you're just having nightmares, love. I don't think there's anybody out to get me, okay? I promise." Paul sniffled. "Hey, look at me. I'm not going to die, yeah? These monsters you think are hiding in the closet, they're not after me. And they're not after you. They're just your imagination."

"You sure?" Ringo pulled him closer to his chest, nodding. "Okay, then. Can I sleep with you and Daddy?"

"Of course you can." He stood up holding his son in his arms and started down the hall. He opened his bedroom door, and George was sitting up on the bed, eyes wide and frightened.

"Is he okay?" Instead of just asking the boy himself, he asked his husband instead.

"Yeah. He had a nightmare again, so he's gonna sleep in here so the monsters don't get him." George hummed just as Ringo walked over and set Paul down on the bed. "You wanna sleep in between us, Paulie?"

He nodded, and George reached a hand out to help him walk up to the pillows without falling. "Are you still scared?" he asked, and Paul shook his head.

"No, but I'm sad that they're going to kill Papa." He said it so nonchalantly that George couldn't help but glance worriedly up at Ringo as he crawled into the bed.e

"What? Who's gonna kill Papa?"

"The monsters in his closet," Ringo whispered. "He says that they told him I sold my soul to protect him, and I told him he's probably just having some nightmares."

"They're not just nightmares!" the young boy protested. "Now they're going to find you, and they’re going to hurt you. And there's nothing I can do to save you, Papa!"

As he made his way under the covers, George glared at Ringo, who just shrugged. After all, he wasn't in control of Paul's dreams. "Paul," George muttered, eyes still focused on Ringo. "Love, nobody's going to hurt Papa, okay? And if they do, it is most definitely not your fault!"

"Well, it's his fault, too. He should've just forgotten it. I really could have dealt with them myself!"

"Sweetie, I didn't sell my soul, yeah? Maybe they're just telling you that to make you feel guilty."

Paul just rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just lie about it, then. I'm tired, anyroad." He closed his eyes and was snoring within a few minutes, and George was still confused as all hell.

"Rich, what did you do?"

"You think I did it on purpose? I already told you that I just lied about the monsters in his closet, and now he's convinced that I sold my soul to them. "

"Did you?"

"Are you serious? Of course I didn't! Geo, they're not real!" He huffed, but George just rolled his eyes. "Look, we've got like half an hour left to seep, so I'm gonna at least try to not feel dead tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay. Night. I love you."

"I love you, too." He closed his eyes, feeling the peaceful darkness finally starting to swallow him up, and he hoped it would be enough to feel rested tomorrow.

-

“Time is it?” Ringo called out across the room from his spot at the table. George glanced at the clock and sighed. “What? It isn’t three yet, is it?"

"2:57," George said back, laughing, and Ringo groaned. "It was your idea to adopt the kid, Richie ... "

"I don't have anything against him, George! Of course I don't. I'm just exhausted from last night, that's all. Poor thing kept me up all night. At least he's not as scared anymore, though. I hope."

George walked over to the table and kissed Ringo on the cheek. "You did wonderfully with him last night, yeah? But it is still your turn to pick him up from school, and I'm not going to let you forget that."

"I know, " Ringo chuckled, getting up and starting to put his shoes on. Once he had them, along with his jacket, on, he opened the door. "I'll see you later." And with a final smile, he was out the door. George sighed.

About twenty minutes later, he was starting to get worried why they weren't home yet. It usually only took ten, and yet, here he sat, still waiting. That's about when the phone rang, scaring him out of his skin, but he still hurried over to answer it.

“Hello?" There was silence for a bit, and his heart only sped up.

"Is this Mr. Harrison-Starkey?"

He nodded before realising whoever the woman on the other end of the phone was couldn't see him. "Yes, it is. Who is this?"

"This is Stockton Wood Road Primary School. Your son, Paul, is here waiting for somebody to pick him up."

"Oh! Erm, I'm so sorry. I'll be there as soon as I can!" He slammed the phone down without even waiting to hear what the lady had to say to him. Something was wrong. Slipping on the closest pair of shoes that would fit his feet, he practically ran out of the door.

About halfway down the road in the car Ringo left in the driveway, the one falling apart that hadn't been driven in years, he saw flashing lights down the road, and his mind went all places it shouldn't have. It wasn't reasonable to jump to every conclusion, no matter how likely it seemed. It also wasn't reasonable to take twenty minutes on a normal trip to pick Paul up from school and never even make it there.

He drove right past the ambulance on the side of the road, not even bothering to waste his time looking at it. After arriving at the school to see Paul standing in front, his oversized backpack making him appear smaller than he actually was, he hardly remembered anything. Paul had told him about a few things, but he didn't even comprehend them. Something about why Papa wasn't picking him up, since it was his turn.

But none of it even registered until he heard a soft, scared, "Papa?" Glancing over at Paul, he saw that he was staring right out of the driver's widow, right at ... the ambulance. George immediately slammed on the brakes, pulling the car off of the road, honks sounding as more swerved around him, but all he could think about was the fact that Paul had seen Ringo by the ambulance, and that couldn't have been a good thing.

"Where's Papa?" he asked, and Paul pointed over to where George had hoped he wouldn't. "Oh, god ... Sweetheart, I need you to stay in the car and not look over there, okay?"

"Why? Is he okay?"

"I'll be right back, love. Just stay put." He got out of the car, carefully crossing the road when there were no cars and immediately saw his husband sitting on the back bumper of the ambulance, head in his hands.

"Ringo?" The man looked up, and his look changed from one of sadness to one of guilt. "God, are you okay??"

"George, I'm so sorry," were the first words out of his mouth, and George gawked at him.

"Sorry? For what, you twat?" He looked over at their only good car, now crumpled like a soda can up against the back of somebody else's. "Did you crash, then?"

"No, not at all." By the looks of George's angry and serious glare, joking probably wasn't the best course of action here. "I am sorry, though. "I, erm ... " He looked down at the ground, starting to worry the younger man standing in front of him, waiting for the rest of the sentence. Ringo just shook his head.

"You what?" He was growing impatient.

"Nothing. I'm just sorry about ruining the car. Now we're stuck with the ... " He looked across the street. "Oh, god. I forgot about Paul! Have you already picked him up?"

"Yeah, he's in there. God, I thought you were hurt really bad. Had me scared with the ambulance. Told him not to look in case you were dead or something."

"If you didn't see me sitting here, clearly alive, how'd you know to stop?"

"Paul saw you. Freaked me the fuck out, he did! Nearly crashed the other car." Ringo smiled at that bit of dark humour, George's own attempt to lighten the mood. "What's with the ambulance, then, if you're alright?"

"Not sure. Maybe they just always call one. I've already spoken with her, so I know she's alright." George turned around to see where Ringo was looking, at the girl standing anxiously outside of a brand new baby blue Pontiac, the back of it smashed up. She looked to be crying, and George didn't blame her.

"Did she pull out in front of you or something?" Once again, Ringo got very quiet.

"What's the matter?"

"Geo, please believe me when I say that I'm sorry. And I know that there's no way you could forgive me for this, but I really don’t want you to be too bad at me -- "

"'Richard!" Ringo looked up at him, eyes red. "I won't be mad. Well, I might be, but you said you didn't do it on purpose, and you know I believe that. Whatever it is—"

"I fell asleep ... " The words fell out of his mouth before he could even ease his way into the harsh reality. "I'm sorry."

"Christ, love. God, it's because you stayed up so late isn't it?"

"You can't tell him. He'd feel so bad knowing that." George got down next to Ringo, sitting next to him and leaning on him. "Please?"

"He'd understand. You know that. He's not four anymore."

"I don't want him to think it was his fault and feel like he can't come to us for help in the night if he has a nightmare. That's not fair to him."

"It's not fair to you to have to stay up and be so tired the next day." When Ringo glared at him, he knew what he was saying was absolutely absurd. Paul was just a kid. It wasn't right to expect that he would have to deal with his nightmares all by himself. "You're right, but I'll deal with him next time, okay?"

"Okay. I'm going to get her number so we can sort all of this out, yeah?" George nodded, and Ringo got up, walking over to the crying teenage girl.

-

Leaning into the pantry, George grunted. "Thought that we had some crisps in here. That's disappointing.

"What do you mean? I just bought some yesterday." His husband stood from his spot on the couch and started to walk over to the small kitchen to inspect the situation, but there was a scream from upstairs. "Already? It's only nine o'clock."

"Do you want me to go and check on him?"

Ringo shook his head. "No, I've got it. I'll be right back. You better find those crisps before then." With a playful glare, he ran up the stairs, towards the noise.

When he ran into his son's room, Paul was sitting up in the bed.

"Papa! Papa, they said they'll be back! You have to be careful!"

"Careful? What do you mean they'll be back? Did they go away for a bit?" The boy shook his head. "Then what -- "

"They're the ones that crashed your car, Papa! You're lucky you even survived that ... " Now, this was getting out of hand. Paul's monsters had nothing to do with that. They weren't even real!

"Paul—"

"You have to tell them to take me instead."

"Sweetheart, listen -- "

"Please! I don't want you to die!"

"Love, there are no monsters! Okay? It was just a nightmare." The boy stared at him blankly for a few seconds. "Your monsters aren't trying to hurt me. I promise. "

"Then why did you crash right after the monsters showed up?" His big eyes stared up at Ringo, and although he didn't want to hurt his imagination in any way, there was a point where it went too far.

"Paul, it's because I didn't get enough sleep last night."

""Because of the monsters?" Ringo sighed. "I'm sorry, Papa. It's my fault, isn't it?"

"Of course it's not. It's not your fault that you had a nightmare. If it was, nobody would ever be having any. They're no fun!" That made Paul smile just a little bit.

"Are you sure there aren't any monsters in here, though?" Ringo walked over to the closet, checking inside, and then behind the bedroom door, and finally making his way back over to the bed, getting down on all fours and peeking his head under the bed to find …

"Paulie? What are the crisps doing under your bed?" He pulled them out, setting them on the bedside table and sitting down on the bed next to a hesitant looking Paul.

"I thought if I gave them to the monsters, they might let you free ... "

"Oh, love ... " As little sense as it made, Ringo couldn't deny that it was one of the nicest things anybody had ever done for him. "Now you know they're not real, though, yeah? It's all just that smart little brain of yours playing tricks."

"I suppose. But then who were talking to you when you said the monsters promised to leave me alone?"

"Oh ... erm, well, I made it up." The look on Paul's face then was unreadable. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to be worried, so I -- " Then, a set of arms wrapped around him.

"Thank you." He smiled, and somebody cleared their throat from behind him in the doorway.

"Do you think you have room in there for another? Family group hug?" George was with them in a second, and a wave of happiness crashed over Ringo.

He couldn't have asked for anything more.


End file.
